On Friday, in India Open Super Series quarterfinal clash, Sindhu defeated Saina on the international platform for the first time. Sindhu has qualified to the Semi-finals.

After the match, Sindhu told the reporters “Saina is not someone special player that I have to win against. It’s not like that I must beat her. She is one of the players. I prepare the same for every opponent. Against each player, I will give 100 per cent. I give my best in every game,”

The tournament was held in at the Delhi’s Siri Fort Sports Complex.Sindhu defeated Saina to 21-16, 22-20.

The players might be rivals on the court but off-field they are ‘normal friends’. The top shuttlers of the country came face to face for the fifth time. Thrice they came across in the domestic platform; twice in the national level and once in the Premier Badminton League. Out of all the three times, London Olympics bronze medalist Saina has won all the three times.

“Everyone has been speaking about it for a very long time,” the 21-year-old said when questioned about her rivalry with Saina. “Yeah, it’s been a long time since we played and then we played at PBL (Premier Badminton League). Now, after a long time, we have played in Super Series. There is a rivalry on court but off it we are normal friends.”
About the match when Saina was very close to leading the match, Sindhu said, “Overall, it was a good match. She was leading from the start but I believed I can come back. I didn’t leave any shuttle as each point was very important. At 20-all it was anybody’s game, I think dribble game worked a lot. But didn’t know she will serve into the net. I always knew it’s not going to be easy.”

Sindhu engaged Saina into a lot of dribble games but said it wasn’t part of a plan. “There was no particular plan. Even she is good at dribbles. It just worked out for me (today),” she said.
So, was she under any pressure ahead of the match? “I never felt any pressure. Even before the morning I was calm. I just thought of giving my best and even after seeing the crowd, it never felt like (being in pressure),” she said.